The French writer, philosopher, and exponent of liberty Frédéric Bastiat would turn 219 years old this week. For more than a century Bastiat’s concise, wisdom-infused words have led people on both sides of the Atlantic to embrace the timeless principles of limited government, freedom of commerce, and unalienable rights. Continue Reading...
Latest Posts
June 29, 2020
Rev. Robert Sirico: The Church’s ‘anemic response’ to COVID-19 hurts everyone
The political response to COVID-19 has created an economic downturn unprecedented since the Great Depression. However, the Church’s “anemic response” has deprived the poor of spiritual solace and the Church of its vocation and vitality, said Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev. Continue Reading...
June 26, 2020
Shaun King and the advent of cultural iconoclasm
Our open national strife entered a new phase when a leader of Black Lives Matter suggested his members move from cultural iconoclasm to religious iconoclasm. Shaun King’s call to smash all European-looking images of Jesus – echoing an ancient heresy – perfectly illustrates the underlying beliefs and ideologies motivating present-day anarchists. Continue Reading...
June 26, 2020
Video: How ‘Poverty, Inc.’ can help the West cure global poverty
The Acton Institute continues to lead the global poverty discussion, as the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business hosted a screening of its award-winning documentary Poverty Inc. Afterwards the chamber held a virtual panel of speakers from around the world, including the film’s producer, Acton Institute Research Fellow Michael Matheson Miller, about how the movie’s insights apply to poverty eradication programs. Continue Reading...
June 26, 2020
The world will be saved by beauty: Singing, worship, and COVID-19
“Singing? I’ve heard that’s even worse than coughing!” That remark, and the horrified tone of the well-intentioned woman from my local church who made it, echoes inside many congregations these days. Continue Reading...
June 25, 2020
America’s two warring views of race
America’s current racial strife has roots deeper than recent controversies involving the police. One factor greatly exacerbating these tensions is the contrast in worldviews over the relative importance of “race” in one’s life and how those in dialogue view the American founding, according to Ismael Hernandez, executive director of the Freedom and Virtue Institute and a longtime lecturer at Acton University. Continue Reading...
June 24, 2020
Clergy patrol: When pastors and police partner up
In response to the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis City Council recently announced their intentions to dismantle the city’s police department — a move that has brought increased prominence to the wider national movement to “defund the police.” Continue Reading...
June 24, 2020
Acton Line podcast: The story of Jimmy Lai’s fight against Chinese oppression
At the age of 13, Jimmy Lai escaped China to experience freedom in Hong Kong and grew to be one of Hong Kong’s highest-profile media moguls. Through his work, Lai founded the anti-Beijing newspaper Apple Daily and became an outspoken critic of the People’s Republic of China, solidifying him as one of Hong Kong’s most important pro-democracy voices. Continue Reading...
June 24, 2020
Winners of 2020 Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics
Six professors affiliated with universities across the United States have been awarded funding to support faculty research and advance course development.
The Acton Institute Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics program accepts proposals from faculty members at colleges, seminaries, and universities in the United States and Canada in order to promote the scholarship and teaching of market economics. Continue Reading...
June 23, 2020
America’s founding vision must be retrieved
Grand Rapids, my home for the last 30 years, a tranquil and polite place, has recently experienced demonstrations and violence like other American cities. A lot of confusion and pain abound. Continue Reading...